


That one person Spider-Man can't save

by Pharavari (orphan_account)



Category: Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: Drug Abuse, Family Drama, Father-Son Relationship, Hospitalization, Hurt Peter, Hurt Peter Parker, Major Character Injury, Parent Tony Stark, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Precious Peter Parker, Tony Stark Has A Heart
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-26
Updated: 2017-12-29
Packaged: 2019-02-21 21:15:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,430
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13152192
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/Pharavari
Summary: "Peter is in the hospital. H-He- they said it was drugs. I think he was drugged, I don't th-" May's voice teared up an awful lot. Tony dropped everything to find them.





	1. This is how your mistake started

Peter tried to stand up using whatever his surroundings were for balance. New York was a city of colors, but his vision was playing a game of telephone that went on long enough to be completely unrecognizable. By that, he could barely see even when he squinted, it just narrowed the darkness and grey mush.

The drug was sweating itself out of his system. He dropped to his knees and wished the taste of iron in his throat would disappear.

He was in his own apartment with the lights on. Peter held his stomach only worsening the pain and dizziness. His skin burned at the sensation of the carpet underneath him.

May was at work.

Peter frowned. This didn't feel like it would passover although he knew it would. The inside of his skull felt heavy. He moved his hands from his stomache to put preassure on his head. The transition was slow, but in no way did it ease anything. His forehead was burning in his palms.

He wished May could help him, but he stared at the front door praying a robber would open it up before she found him.

Peter would say this was all an allergic reaction.

His eyes teared up. He had seriously overdosed himself on medicine. The act was on purpose too, even worse. May was a nurse and if he went to the hospital she'd know about what he did.

It wasn't what it sounded like at all. Peter knew he had a higher metabolism than 99% of the population. He had taken extra pills to ease some bad pain after he fought Sand Man and Mysterio out in the heart of the city.

He took a lot extra actually. He thought it wasn't working because everytime he checked the microwave clock, he had given the medicine more than enough time to show off at least one minor effect. It did nothing for him.

Then the couch started to get blurry, he hit his head on either the coffee table or a wall, hard to tell when the world was sideways... 

Nausea was common. Peter was so disgusted. He closed his eyes.

If his metabolism chewed through medication in seconds couldn't it just run over all the pain he was in in a minute.

He knew he was supposed to go to Mr. Stark's two hours ago. He couldn't shake off the feeling that when Mr. Stark called him it was a life-or-death event. (He simply invited him to discuss technology and science)

Peter pushed himself off the ground. He was way to pale to be mistaken for healthy by anyone even with zero medical knowledge. Peter clenched his shirt when it felt like it was getting to tight around his chest.

Not as much time had gone by as he originally thought.

Peter got his own money, webshooters incase, and despite it being a horrible idea, went out to catch a bus that would take him closer to the Avengers building.

The bus driver looked at the strange kid once the door opened.

"Are you ok, son?" His eyebrows creased as he studied the teens sickly appearance.

Peter didnt think it was that bad. He shook his head. "I'm fine sir," that was awfully formal for a bus driver, he shuffled to a seat. He was so confused and embarrased.

The city started moving, or more accurately the bus did. Unless you were Peter, then everything started moving. The floor started to spiral and bounce and Peter was so tired he started hallucinating.

Not the best time for this he muttered. In the span of two seconds it became unbearable. Peter wrapped his arms around his knees and finally passed out.

He went limp and rolled off into the aisle.

The four other passengers on the late night bus stared at the kid on the floor. There eyes still a bit wide in surprise. The bus driver pulled over and everyone was a bit worried when the kid wasn't responding to the shouts.

New Yorkers weren't really known for hospitality, but these people just happened to be a tired bunch of exceptions.

Twenty seconds went by of everyone crowding around him asking if he was ok, but none of it stirred the teen awake.

Peter wasn't even breathing and the bus driver had to call 911.

Peter only saw a few things in otherwise black, and one of that was the shape of paramedics putting an oxygen mask over his face as the ceiling switched from the fluorescent lights of the bus to an ambulance.

He didn't want to be here. He didn't think he had to really. Peter kicked his feet in an attempt to run away, but it was so panicked it had no effect- Other than making the medical team believe he was afraid of doctors.

The spark of life in his eyes went out as quickly as it had came and he passed out again. 

No this was horrible, he didn't have anything that could connect him with spider-man on him (that they could recognize, the web shooters, if they even figured out how to use them, were not public information tied to his counterpart.) However he still had every right to be absolutely terrified.

Unfortunately the closest hospital would of course be the one May worked at part time because he never left Queens.

* * *

 

In the hospital a group of nurses were chatting together.

"Bye Ms. Parker," One of the head nurses waved off.

May turned around ready to go home, but she was cut off. The team that left ten minutes ago burst through the door into the emergency room with a gurney. Orders were called out and executed by the nurse's running up to the unconscious boy.

May caught the slightest glimpse from where she stood, utterly horrified. Her nephew lay ontop the white blankets as he was being pushed down the hall.

"Peter!" May yelled. She grabbed the boy's hand and looked at her nephew for the longest moment of her life. She stopped running as the medical team moved forward, having the image of Peter with his eyes tightly shut aided by an oxygen mask etched in her head.

One of the two nurses she was talking with turned and instantly recognized May's nephew. She covered her mouth in shock and ran up to help the doctors with him, she pushed the other nurse towards May. 

The other woman asked May to sit down in a comforting voice.

"What happened?" She asked over and over again hyperventilating. That nurse raced off to ask one of the paramedics then relayed the answer.

"They think he dosed on something strong,"

* * *

 

Tony had come to love the hopefulness of his protégé. He missed his chance to talk to him this whole week, but he had invited the kid to the lab. Tony was curious about the web formula. He was preparing to fight Thanos in the future, and Peter's tech mixed with Stark engineering had to be powerful against him.

Tony checked the clock every thirty minutes. He really didn't think the kid was coming at this point so he sighed and pulled up an unfinished project.

Maybe enhancements on the iron-spider suit.

Through hours of work and a lack of coffee, Tony tiredly started thinking about the future. If moments before fighting Thanos, no one showed up. His dream seemed to connect itself to Peter,

What if he got himself into something he'd regret for the rest of his life at fifteen?

The Spider-Suit was offline, Tony had just checked to be sure. Ok so he was with May. Good. That was all Tony needed to know.

If only that were the case. May called him as he was working.

"Peter is in the hospital," She said in a hurry.

Tony's mind instantly jumped to every possibility in the universe. First he needed to know what had happened, "Why? Which one?"

"H-He- they said it was drugs. I think he was drugged, I don't th-" May's voice teared up an awful lot. She hung up, sent Tony the directions to the hospital, then called him again.

Tony answered as he flew in his Iron-Man suit towards the place. He was unsure about many things. Peter was an amazing kid, he couldn't even begin to imagine what was going on.

"His powers, I called because I don't know what's going to happen to him. I'm not sure if his system is different," May managed to speak with more confidence, but concern still etched deep into her voice.

Tony easily picked up on the point she was on to, "I have a medical team equipped to deal with super-powered humans like him." 

May nodded on the other side of the phone, practically face-palming herself when she realized he couldn't see her.

"Is he ok? Where was he when they found him?" Tony came back.

May answered with, "I don't know. I thought he was with you."

And that was it, she hung up. Tony flew even faster and got out of the suit with no one seeing him in it as he went through the doors to the hospital in Queens.

May looked up puzzled. "A-Are you crying?" She asked.

Tony became more aware and ignored that. He sat down next to May on a chair in the waiting room.

They were both dead quiet for the longest time because the first words either of them wanted to hear were going to be about Peter's condition.

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

"I don't get it, the respitory damage is obvious."

The doctor nodded waiting for his assistant to say something else about the kid as he looked at the scans on his computer.

"..But nothing else about him makes sense!" The nurse ran her hands through her hair and leaned over to review the same scans. 

"Peter could be a mutant," The doctor said. He sighed, "We don't have anything to compare his stats to. So it's impossible to tell if he's recovering or not, even if we knew why his immune system is mutated."

They were very worried about the kid as nearly everyone working here had met him a few times. It felt awful knowing this was May's kid and there was already gossip going on behind her back.

There was kind of a nervous tension when moving any of the tubes around the teen.

There was a tube running down his throat. The nurse connected an iv bag now that Peter was in his own room.

Peter's nose started bleeding again in his sleep. She grabbed a towel off the counter and lifted his head so all the red could run into it.

"Dr. Hautzfig, his nose is still bleeding. Also temperature is 104°"

The doctor got up from his chair and turned around, "That is way to high." The room was really small and he was being careful not to knock anything off as he walked up to Peter's side. 

He took the thermometer from the nurse and double checked. It rose to 105°. "Get him some ice, we can't let him get worse. He hasn't shown any signs of waking up in two hours. That's too long. I need an mri scan so we can make sure there is no traumatic brain injury. Tell Ma- Ms. Parker she can see him for a minute." He ordered his assistant around suddenly becoming obsessed with saving his patient.

"Ok." The assistant handed her higher up the towel and gently rolled Peter on to his side so the blood wouldn't go back up his nose. She left immediately to do her job.

The nurse walked up to May last. May was looking at the floor while talking to some guy with a very familiar face. The nurse stepped back a little, scared by the presence of Tony Stark. Yet she had no time to question it squeezing the ice pack in her hands a little tighter.

"Peter still isn't responding. We have him on a ventilator because the drug damaged his respitory system. There is severe pain in his kidneys too,"

"What did they drug him with?"

The nurse repeated back "they" very quietly as if she was implying Peter had more likely done this to himself.

"Er.. we can tell it was an overdose of medications that were likely to deal with headaches, insomnia. This wasn't just over by one or two pills, I'm saying this had to be 12-14 beyond the recommended dosage."

"What...?" May and Tony asked simultaneously.

"Our theory is.." The nurse swallowed a lump in her throat.

"He wouldn't," Tony said. 

Tony Stark was with a poor woman like May Parker. The nurse had so many questions. She thanked god she was already standing by the door to Peter's room. 

"Whatever you say. And we're going to do an mri scan when he has control of his breathing."

She opened the door half way and looked at Tony. Was he coming? May was unbothered. The nurse pushed it open all the way and the three saw the sight of Peter.

Tony had never seen the kid who was stronger than at least three of the Avengers (himself included) beat up to this point. He was weak simply laying in the bed. Peter was under a thin cover. A few wires layered his chest and the nurse moved some of them when she placed the ice pack on Peter's forehead.

May freaked out a tinge seeing the tube rest on Peter's lips and travel off the side of the bed to a machine giving him the oxygen he needed. The hospital gown was loose around his arms and likely bigger than him; Peter never really grew much.

Doctor Hautzfig faced May and Tony, who unlike the young nurse, didn't recognize Stark. "We're going to do everything we can to help him. I'm not exaggerating. It's dificult because we've come to the conclusion he is a mutant."

May looked so scared, she knew how mutants were treated in society and she let something in her fear for her nephew's life. 

"It's fine May. You knew about it though, yes?"

May nodded her head.

"Mutations can create thousands of unique organ systems that aren't able to be prepared for with medical training. The only way to know if he's ok is if we guess until we get something right and he's conscious again. Peter doesn't have medical records that we can use to help guide us it's like- it's like whatever this mutant thing is just showed up out of nowhere."

May stopped nodding and just wanted Dr. Hautzfig to go on. 

Tony unfolded his arms and spoke up. "I have a medical facility that can treat someone like him. They're trained to deal with super-humans."

"So thats why you're here," Dr. Hautzfig smiled. The assistant in the back looked up finally able to understand why as well.  _How_ ~~~~was a better question, but she had to admit she did not know May beyond Christmas parties.

"A lot is going to be signed for that process to happen," The nurse said. "Ask the front desk. We should move him there when it's safer, specifically when we remove the ventilator."

That was over.

Dr. Hautzfig pulled out a list of questions on a clipboard. May knew where this was going. The doctor coughed and everyone's attention went to him. May looked pissed.

"It's required by law. ...I know you are an amazing guardian to Peter, but these are serious questions. It only has to be me and you here."

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes I read comments and get super motivated to start writing (thank you for kudoses too)  
> Next chapter comes out soon, I don't have an exact date but I know I shouldn't be too busy. Probably just jinxed myself, ha.


	3. Chapter 3

May shooed off Tony and Dr. Hautzfig shooed off the nurse. Both waited outside, Tony went to the front desk.

Peter's doctor turned around in his chair.

"Did he use drugs/alcohol before?"

"No."

"Do you keep either of those things in your house?"

"She said it was painkillers.."

"Has he showed signs of suicidal behavior before?"

May nearly choked, "No!"

"Was he abused by anyone, partner/parents that would have led him to have some kind of resentment to-"

That question went on too long and May already answered, "No." 

"K," Dr. Hautzfig glared into May's soul.

Peter was still ill and completely out of it.

May held Peter's hand and started crying. She stopped herself and looked at her nephew. This was the time she started really, truly, wondering if Peter hid more things than Spider-Man in his life.

The doctor stood against the door frame keeping his eyes on May as she got up. He didn't say anything because May didn't ask, leaving him to believe she either knew everything from the nurse or wanted out.

"I trust you Ms. Parker."

May sighed a breath of relief.

Time outside that room seemed to go much faster. The lights were brighter, it put May at the calmest she had been in three and a half hours.

Later, she found Tony waiting for her.

"So I'm assuming you know how to help him because of Avengers buisness?"

Happy, who had came some time ago, handed both May and his boss a cup of coffee. 

"Our whole staff as met him several times," Happy said.

But Tony saw her cocern and gave her something reassuring. "Half of them used to work with organizations that specialized in the studies of super-humans, inhumans, etc-" Tony told her.

"Jeezus, he hasn't been seriously injured as Spider-Man before has he?"

"Not that I know of. He hasn't been to medical, but incase of emergency I made sure my team has proper scans of him."

"G-good. Thanks." May got a little jittery from the coffee. "...Do I need t'sign," She asked while eyeing the packet in Tony's lap.

Tony handed May the clipboard so she could sign permission to move Peter to Stark's place.

The pen and paper was pushed back to the billionaire after.

"Thank you for your help. And for paying the medical bills too, that was nice of you. Bye."

Tony was a little baffled. May mouthed "please go," under her breath and another thank you. He was confused and wanted to stay here for Peter. However May was desperate to get him to leave and he respected her wishes.

He grabbed his jacket off the chair. May was holding in a breakdown with all her strength.

"Happy, start the car," he said quietly.

The two guys pulled themselves away from May. 

May waited two minutes and glanced at the front door. They were gone, and so she would go. May made a quick dash to the exit taking her keys, purse, and phone with her.

Her eyes were hidden by her hair. 

She called a taxi outside the hospital in the freezing rain. Then, got into the back seat of a taxi and mumbled her street adress.

Every hour was very much dark.

May was digging through papers in her kitchen later that night (or most likely early morning). There was something she wanted to find for Peter.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is an unrelated question to the chapter, but what tags did you guys find this under? I'm interested


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning for suicide reference/mention

His ears picked up the thousands of footsteps in the building. Other noises, like beeping and carts being pushed blended into a dragged monotone voice. It all seemed as if life was playing it's own background music now.

Peter turned his head and gave a confused look to the pillow. His eyes snapped shut because the light put him through more pain.

He had less than partial control of his lungs. Moving any muscle was impossible, but Peter tried when he didn't understand. Even if it only aggravated his body and tired him out.

He thought the tubes in his mouth were the cause of his weakness, unaware of how it worked and why it helped him.

Someone was talking to him and Peter became desperate to see what was going on. He opened his eyes struggling as much to do a simple task as when he lifted cars by a web. 

Peter's brain unbended to the hospital room. He whispered something that was close to a tranquil thought, "Hide your panic, hide your identity, hide your-"

He slowly turned his head to the nurse and looked at her up and down.

"Are you in pain?" Was her first question.

No? 

 _May, he remembered seeing a blurry version of May when they brought him here. Where was she?_ Was Peter's first question. He tried to speak yet something in his vocal cords felt off. A small groan came when he opened his lips- he hoped the nurse didn't think that was a yes because he felt fine enough.

Peter gave a thumbs up since it seemed natural at this point.

"I'm going to ask you some questions, squeeze twice for yes and once for no."

The nurse wrapped Peter's fingers over her palm. Peter felt warmth in his right hand.

"Do you know where you are?"

To be completely honest he didn't remember anyone tell him where they were going, but he concluded it was hospital with a little sprinkle of common sense.

The next question hurt his head a little more to listen too.

Then there were more Peter couldn't understand.

His eyelids got heavier and the nurse's speech had either slowed down considerably or something was wrong. He felt like he was sinking into the matress, but he was too light to even weigh it down.

So apparently that was the longest he was coherent after waking up four other times in the night. (none of which he remembered)

The lights were back on for a second time. Peter pushed his elbows down to lift off of the bed. He was coughing, or choking. The tube wouldn't move out of his throat. It was inside half of his body.

He took his arm and felt the straps and tubes over his mouth. Peter moved his fingers under the strap below his ears and tried to pull the contraption off his face.

The nurse grabbed his hands before he hurt himself.

Peter looked at her eyes wide and red.

The doctor was called in. There was a thorough check then, Peter's head was being pressed into the pillow by the nurse. They couldn't give Peter sedatives anymore, yet were still about to remove the ventilator. 

The nurse kept saying things that sounded like the stuff Karen was programmed to say.

Peter closed his eyes and brought his legs up to his stomach like a ball. Extubation. This was the worst (physical) pain he had been in in a long time. The two medics already covered their ears knowing the kid was going to scream. And yeah, it was an incredibly painful procedure.

Peter took in a deep breath and sat up against the headboard. "Thank you," it was kind of odd to say as the first thing to follow crying. 

"On a scale of one to ten, how much pain are you in?"

"Two?" Peter said with the strongest voice he could manage. Though it sounded weaker than his 7 year-old self.

The doctor looked at him worried. He could guarantee the kid was lying, but didn't want to push it. 

"Do you remember the last time you woke up and we went over some questions?"

Peter could only recall them asking one, so what we're they talking about? Maybe he was referring to another time. He shook his head "no" and adjusted the position he was sitting in.

He wrapped his arms around his lower stomach. That rising feeling washed over him. Mixed with another feeling he wasn't as used too; Basically it was the same "rising" but in his brain. A chunk of memory came to the front of his mind.

And he could see himself being slid into a machine that scanned his head. 

"Luckily, the brain damage is light. 'Could effect short term memory, hearing, and vision for a few days. If that isn't enhanced too." The doctor said. 

Peter started being pulled back to the real world, completely throwing off his train of thought. Everything was kind of getting dark again. He tightened the grip on his stomach.

"When we were asking you questions, you said something about falling off of buildings like it was a normal thing," Dr. Hautzfig looked at Peter, mimicking those eyes May gave him when she wanted an explanation. Or Tony gave him sometimes when he wanted the truth. "Then we found multiple fractures to your legs, back, and wrist that I'm sure were major whenever you first got them-

Peter wanted to pass out again so he didn't have to talk. As more memories came back, he could actually hear himself say something along the lines of that. Whether he was out of it or not wasn't easy to tell, but he certainly thought of it clearly.

"...We uh, bandaged some of the injuries that were still pretty ba-

He didn't have to say a word to the doctor. He knew however, that if Tony or May asked him why he said that, he'd have to tell them something. As this didn't line up with being Spider-Man and Tony could easily figure that out thanks to Karen.

"..d. That was the most we could really do, your Aunt wants to move you to another hospital."

He took on bigger fights on purpose, and regretted them after when it hurt real bad, but he took on bigger fights hoping one of his enemies could punch him in the face hard enough to kill him. Because he couldn't bring himself to just do "it" quickly and alone. 

Not going to tell May he was bullied, worried about his future, afraid he was a dissapointment that just drained her money.

Not going to tell Tony he needed his help, also afraid he was an annoyance that just drained his money, didn't want to keep making mistakes.

Not going to spill his personal life in a hospital. He was glad there were no follow up questions anyway. Peter just realized he missed the last part of what was said.

He didn't want to ask him to repeat it though.

Peter could hear a thump every second in his head. The same "echo of all the footsteps" noise droned back in. Peter, who usually treated times he was in pain like a government secret, asked the doctor if he should be worried about his stomach hurting. Like 8 out of 10 hurting.

The doctor told him to lay back down. Unable to tell him much more, but he had been expecting there to be something wrong with his kidnies.

Stark's medical team was on its way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter definitely is a slow step forward compared to the last ones.  
> But..  
> Tony and peter get to be together next chapter!  
> And what May was looking for will come into the story 
> 
> Soon  
> So  
> Very  
> Soon

**Author's Note:**

> Somebody requested a story in which Spider-Man wasn't in danger, Peter was. I thought that was a neat idea then they talked to me a little bit more, and gave me a story they wanted me to write. I had fun.  
> I hope you enjoyed the story!  
> Also, I will seriously do more requests in the future for this fandom.


End file.
